Balls in the Air

"Mom, that just sounds wrong. Balls in the Air. It sounds like - you know - boys and things."And that is what this blog is about: boys, my boys. But it is also about working, running competitively and juggling them with the other things that life throws at you.

Inperspire Towels

Road Warrior Running

Monday, February 2, 2015

For many years, Wednesday has been my favorite day of the week; it was run night. Shawn and I use to run our tempo on Wednesday's and I spent all day looking forward to them. When I joined the Toronto Olympic Club, Wednesday remained a staple in my running diet and rarely would I miss a practice.This Wednesday was no exception. I was looking forward to a quiet night at home with the dudes, making cookies and helping with homework, but all that was going to happen after 7:30, after I got home from training with Coach Kevin and, this week, the guys. As any other week, I got dressed to run at 5:30 and left just before 6:00 to meet them at the Rec Centre. The temperatures were perfect; a drill of 1 kilometre repeats was planned; I was going to like this workout.I left the house in my Saucony neon pink jacket and warmed up along the quiet roads. I was only 300-400 metres away from home and I felt myself start to fall, but it was an almost surreal experience. I felt my toe hit something and I couldn't figure out what was happening. In fact, I clearly recall thinking, "What is happening to me?" All I do know is that I was airborne. I felt my body float forward, my bottom jaw thrust with it, my top jaw follow and my chin whack the concrete road. My head rang; it was as though a gong inside my head was hit and everything was dinging from ear to ear. At that point, I realized I was lying flat on the road. The ringing stopped. My forehead was okay, but I was not. Then I knew that my toe hit an ice rock, the black chunky ice that gets stuck to the back of cars, which had somehow managed to stick to the road. When I hit it, I moved, not it.Dazed, I entertained going to the Rec Centre as it was closer than home but I knew something was really wrong. Quickly, I grabbed a handful of snow to ice my chin and realized I was losing a lot of blood. I started to walk home, shaking, scared, and scooping up handful after handful of snow to try to keep down the swelling, leaving a trail of blood. My teeth didn't feel right and I counted them - twice - to make sure they were all there. "It's Wednesday night," I thought. "Thank goodness the dentist works late." Cars passed but I couldn't get my hands away from my mouth fast enough to get the drivers' attention; when I saw two runners, I wanted to yell but I couldn't open my mouth enough to get the words out. As soon as I got home, Dave called the dentist but he had just left. "We have to go to Emergency," I said. "There is something wrong with my jaw. I think I've dislocated it." The dudes scrambled to get my health card, and Dave and I left for the hospital.When Dave and I arrived at Emerg., there were too many people to count. At Triage, I was told my blood pressure was high (135) because I just fell. "But it's never that high," I replied. "It's normally at 80 or 90. Even when I was pregnant, it never got that high." "But you just fell," the nurse repeated. When we finished, I asked how long the wait was likely to be and started to cry; it was the first time I had cried that night. The nurse looked ant me and asked, "Well, how much pain are you in?" "I was in less pain when I delivered both of my kids." She booked me as a "9" and fast-tracked me.By the time I finally saw an intern, the bleeding on my chin had mostly stopped. I knew that my teeth had been displaced and I was still fairly certain that I had dislocated my jaw. The intern did an assessment, concluded that I had a mild concussion, there no indication of a dislocated jaw and I needed stitches on my chin. He consulted with the ER doctor who said the same thing. "But my jaw doesn't feel right. There is something wrong with it." The two walked away but I heard them say that they would x-ray me "as a precaution."When the images came back, the doctor came in surprised. "You have a broken jaw." My mind raced with images of a former student who broke her jaw while skiing and had to be wired shut. I worried about being away from work and getting things done around the house. I didn't want to be out of commission for any chunk of time. But it was too soon to get any answers. All they could do was pump some antibiotics and painkillers into me, stitch up my chin, give me a prescription and a few meds to get me through the night and a referral to see an oral surgeon the next day. Home we went.On Thursday morning, Dave and I went to see the oral surgeon who showed me the x-rays. There are 4 fractures: 3 closed and 1 open. Two are next to one ear and the third is next to my other; that explains the ringing sensation I had. The open fracture means that the bone has broken into my gums and has pushed behind my bottom teeth. The surgeon wants to wait for a week for things to settle down before he makes any decisions, but he is hopeful that he won't have to wire my jaw shut and that my teeth will slowly start to shift back into place. He topped up my prescription with more antibiotics and painkillers and ordered me to a liquid diet and bed rest.It's five days later and I don't know how much improvement my jaw has seen. I am getting use to liquids only and have perfected a soft-boiled egg that I can simply "swallow". I'm trying to staying positive but there are still a lot of unknowns, and unknowns frighten me.There are so many times that I have stumbled while running and been able to recover. This was such a freak accident and I still can't figure out how it happened. Lighting was obviously a factor; at 6:00, a black icy chunk of rock blended in perfectly with the road. Why I wasn't able to catch myself will always be a question.I have always been a believer in "things happen for a reason" but I don't know the what this one's is. When I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

For those of you who are wondering where I've been, I'm right here, toeing the line, ready to take on 2015. Like training for a race or a marathon, life is a journey; everything that you have done in the past prepares you for the next step but, sometimes, things take you by surprise. Last year took me by surprise. In the spring, I watched the health of both parents change, resulting in selling the house and moving both of them into a retirement home. In the summer, my brothers and I got them settled and closed the family house, which meant countless hours of sorting, purging, distributing and donating over 50 years of their possessions. In the fall, I went back to school feeling as tired as I was at the end of June, but now I faced my 5 year evaluation - again, hours of prep work and oodles of stress. The circumstances of the year helped me to see the fortitude of my family - my brothers, their wives, my husband and sons. We worked together, we got along, we complained about each other and laughed about our quirks. During 2014, I also re-discovered how important my running is to me. I was at the end of my marathon training cycle when my year started to turn. With less than a month to go, I recognized that I needed to be available to help my parents. How could I do that with my own children to care for, while working and training for a marathon? I thought about quitting the race before I even started, but I didn't. I knew how much I needed it, to keep that regiment of training - something I could control - in place. I ended up finishing the marathon in 3:33, but with an unexplained ache in my foot and hip and the disappointment of missing my goal time. In the next few months, I continued to face unexplained aches and pains through my hips, legs and feet to the point when I seriously contemplated hanging up my shoes. By the end of August, though, I decided to challenge the complaints I was feeling and do "whatever it takes" to keep me on the trails and roads. I turned back to physiotherapy, went back to regular yoga and started a slow build-up of distance. And I - gulp - ordered orthotics. By the end of November, I raced 4 times, with a Masters win in a 10K, and a second and 2-third place overall finishes in the 5K races; times were consistent with previous years so, maybe, just maybe, things weren't all that bad.By mid-December, the challenges of 2014 had been put to rest. Over the last two weeks, I have done nothing - absolutely nothing - but rest and play. I've spent time with my family and I've run. Physically, I am still healing but I am feeling ready to throw myself into some higher mileage and faster times. Goals are set; I'm ready to chase them down.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

One of the things that I will always remember about my mom is her story of JFK's assassination. "I'll never forget that day," she started. "You were only two months and your father called me from work. I knew there was something wrong right away." She told me the story several times, and she always began it the same way.

In 2001, when the Twin Towers came down, I was home alone with my baby boy. Mom called me. "Are you watching t.v?" she asked. "Turn it on. Something has happened." Like my mother's memories of November 1963, that moment and the rest of that day has become etched in my mind.

As today's events on Parliament Hill unfolded, I knew that they were quickly becoming my next piece of living history, not a current event but something that will be a part of me forever. "How could this happen?" I thought, as well as "Why would this happen?" or "That's not suppose to happen in Canada." For hundreds of years, Canadians have welcomed people from around the world - as tourists, as refugees and as immigrants. We are a peaceful, loving nation. I felt violated.

Every day, as we sing the anthem at school, I am grateful to be a Canadian. My boys can play at recess without armed guards around the perimeter of the playground to protect them. My teammates and I can run through the streets at night, our only concern being whether we are visible enough to oncoming traffic. Young or old, we have dreams and we go after them; that will never change.

But how we chase those dreams will. We will stop and look; we will think twice; we will be a little more cautious - vigilant. But we will not stand down.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Over the past year, I have done my share of complaining about the weather. In the winter, I ran more treadmill runs (4) that I had in the 10 previous years. The spring had many windy, windy days and, somehow, they all managed to land when I had my long runs. Summer never really came and, for someone who loves to run in the heat, I was truly disappointed in Mother Nature.This fall, though, has been great. Okay, so I had to train for a few downpours which had me looking for Noah's Arc, and I raced on one of the wettest Sundays we had all year, but the fields have been dry for cross-country and we haven't had to cancel a single practice - until Friday.On Thursday night, the forecast showed a 90% chance of rain and the dreaded lightning bolt. In schools, that means that practices or any other outdoor activity is cancelled. I really wanted Friday's after school training to continue; it has become a favorite workout for the kids and I love their enthusiasm from start to end. On Friday morning, though, the forecast stayed the same; at lunch, the lightning bolt still showed on The Weather Network; by 2:00, we made the decision to cancel practice. I glared at Mother Nature.But every cloud has a silver lining and I quickly found it. My husband had been away for most of the week and we had 3 different teacher nights (mine and the two dudes') so my run time had been minimal all week. Once I had cancelled cross-country, I realized that I freed up almost 2 hours to get my own run in before I had to pick up Little Ironman at the babysitter's. After work, then, I rushed home, changed and hit the road during what ended up becoming a light drizzle. I picked up LI, then Skipper and the rest of the night was quiet family time.So, thank you, Mother Nature for helping out a fellow mama, this running mama.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

On our way to school this morning, the boys and I planned our evening around Skipper's schedule. Since Hubs is away and Skipper was volunteering after school, there was no one around to watch Little Ironman until after dinner. This meant another night run, as in a dark run, and cooler temperatures - not what I wanted at all.While at work, I felt myself becoming a bit frustrated whenever I thought of running later in the evening; I really wanted to get out right after school. At lunch, I realized that I might be able to get a ride home at the end of the day rather than walk, which would get me home half an hour earlier, and the time I needed to run in the warm sunshine. Thanks to the help of a co-worker, this idea became reality.I got home, changed and ran a lovely 12K, finishing at Little Ironman's babysitter's house. LI handed me his backpack, grabbed his skateboard, and we headed home together.Simple enough. I like to think of myself as independent; I have a hard time asking for help. But I'm slowly learning that it is alright to turn to others when I need to. While it's usually fine for me to run in the evening, it isn't always okay for the boys. Tonight, getting in at 6:00, with nothing to worry about for the rest of the night, meant that I could spend time with LI. We ate dinner, baked cookies and curled up to watch the first episode of Marvel: Agents of Shield (which was great, by the way). By bedtime, he was content; LI had his much needed Mommy-time. He was so excited about our walk together that he captured the moment on camera.Today, everything somehow managed to fall into place. A happy mommy makes for happy kids, and a happy son makes for a happy mom. Love these sunshiny days!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

The thought of worlds colliding tends to worry people. There are times, though, when it can lead to something great. Friday was one of those times.The worlds that I'm referring to, though, are not planets with human or mysterious life forms; they are my worlds - my family, my job and my running worlds. On Friday after school, through some careful planning, I was able to bring them together.Instead of coaching cross-country at lunch that day, I ran an after school practice. This gave us more time - to warm-up, to do some speedwork and cool-down, all while covering the distance that the kids need in preparation of their meet. We were joined by parents, co-workers and my son (who met us after he finished school), happy to motivate everyone through the workout. We had an amazing hour and the students and parents were truly grateful for the extra time. When I got home, I headed out for my own run. I was on a high from having such a successful practice and I carried that feeling with me. When I got home, I felt the excitement that has been missing in my running for a long time. Suddenly, I was inspired to push myself forward and set new goals.So, yes, my worlds collided and sparks went off; I am truly excited about running again and it is great!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The other night, I crawled into bed just after midnight. We were still enjoying the hot summer temperatures so our bedroom window was still open.
"Eww, what smells?" I asked. I jumped out of bed to close all of the windows, thinking that one of our neighbourhood skunks was letting his presence be known. But as I neared the window, I realized that it wasn't a skunk smell. Disgusted, I crawled back into bed.
"Is that you?" I asked my husband.
"No."
"Yes, it is." I was convinced it was him. "Did you shower before going to bed?""Yes."
"No, you did not. You absolutely stink." I wasn't thrilled about having to wash the sheets the next morning.
"It's not me," Dave replied. "I showered."
"Then what is it?"
Out of bed again, I marched into the bathroom to see if the skunky smell was coming from the backyard and, sure enough, I found it. I closed the door and crawled back into bed.
"Never mind," I said. "It's just my running gear from my workout."

How do you protect your clothes from the "sweaty" smell? Do you use a sports detergent like Sport Suds? I use Tide Pods but am starting to think that a sports detergent may be in order. What tricks do you have to prolong the life of your gear?